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Public  Library  of  Cincinnati 

1802-1808-1908 


LIBEAEY  SCHOOL  LIBHAHlt 


PUBLIC  LIBRARY  OF  CINCINNATf'''''^^ 

1802—1808—1908 

HISTORY 

At  6  o'clock  on  the  evening  of  February  13, 
1802,  a  few  people  met  in  one  of  the  rooms  of 
Yeatman's  Tavern,  in  response  to  a  call  printed 
that  morning  in  the  Western  Spy  and  Hamilton 
Gazette,  and  addressed  to  those  interested  in 
having  a  public  library  in  Cincinnati.  Jacob 
Burnet,  Martin  Baum  and  Lewis  Kerr  were  ap- 
pointed a  committee  to  open  a  subscription  list, 
the  subscribers  to  agree  to  take  one  or  more 
shares  of  stock  and  to  pay  for  these  at  the  rate 
of  $10  for  each  share.  A  second  meeting  of  sub- 
scribers and  "others  desirous  of  encouraging  the 
library"  was  called  for  Monday  evening,  March 
8,  also  at  Mr.  Yeatman's,  to  receive  the  report  of 
the  committee.  The  list  of  subscribers  was 
headed  by  Arthur  St.  Clair,  the  first  governor 
of  the  Northwest  Territory.  The  subscription 
paper,  once  owned  by  Robert  Clarke,  is  now  in 
the  possession  of  the  Historical  and  Philosoph- 
ical Society  of  Ohio.  In  a  note  on  the  back  it  is 
stated  that  the  library  went  into  operation  March 
6,  1802,  with  Lewis  Kerr  as  librarian.  Of  the 
fate  of  the  library  nothing  is  known.  It  may 
have  been  merged  in  the  collection  of  the  Circu- 
lating Library  Society. 

The  early  history  of  the  Library  Society  has 
come  down  to  us  in  a  preface  to  a  catalogue  of 
the  books  of  the  society,  published  in  1816.  In 
the  autumn  of  1808  several  persons  "desirous  of 

3 

iV!5903G9 


seeing  a  public  library  established  in  Cincinnati" 
assembled  for  the  purpose  of  applying  to  the 
Legislature  for  a  law  of  incorporation.  A  peti- 
tion and  the  draft  of  a  bill  were  forwarded  but 
for  reasons  never  disclosed  to  the  petitioners 
their  prayer  was  not  granted.  In  1811  the  pro- 
ject was  revived  and  a  subscription  paper  was 
circulated  by  George  Turner,  Esq.  with  consid- 
erable success.  The  subscribers,  in  answer  to  a 
call  published  in  Liberty  Hall  of  June  26,  assem- 
bled at  Goodwin's  Tavern  (Eagle  and  Plough) 
opposite  the  Court  House,  on  the  following  Sat- 
urday, at  early  candle-light.  Two  meetings  were, 
in  fact,  held  and  a  constitution  adopted,  officers 
chosen  and  a  committee  appointed  to  apply  for  a 
charter  at  the  next  legislative  session.  This  ap- 
plication was  not  made  and  all  further  exertions 
ceased  for  a  twelvemonth. 

At  the  expiration  of  that  period,  two  or  three 
persons  succeeded  in  obtaining  the  papers  which 
the  committee  had  prepared  the  year  before  and 
transmitted  them  to  the  Legislature,  which  en- 
acted a  law  of  incorporation  January  2,  1813.  In 
this  act  seven  directors  were  named,  to  hold  their 
places  until  the  annual  election  in  the  ensuing 
March.  Still  public  enthusiasm  at  the  prospect 
of  having  a  public  library  was  not  at  a  white  heat. 
No  election  was  ordered  in  March  and  in  a  call 
for  a  meeting  printed  in  Liberty  Hall  of  May  25, 
to  be  held  next  day,  the  subscribers  are  urged  to 
come  forward  and  discharge  their  subscriptions 
without  further  delay  and  the  directors  express  a 
regret  that  little  attention  had  been  given  to  pre- 
vious notices  and  indulge  a  hope  that  there  will 
be  no  further  cause  of  complaint.     The  subscrip- 

4 


tions  were  payable  either  in  cash  or  in  books. 
William  Corry  was  the  librarian. 

The  original  directors  continued,  by  common 
consent,  in  the  exercise  of  their  functions  until 
the  spring  of  1814,  when  the  first  election  was 
held,  and  on  April  16,  the  library,  containing 
three  hundred  volumes,  apparently  all  received  in 
lieu  of  cash,  was  opened.  To  effect  an  immedi- 
ate increase  in  this  diminutive  collection  was  re- 
garded as  so  desirable  that,  in  addition  to  a  press- 
ing call  for  the  unpaid  subscriptions,  the  directors 
borrowed  small  sums  of  money  on  a  credit  of 
three  years  without  interest,  and  purchased  books 
on  the  same  terms.  With  the  money  borrowed 
and  collected  from  the  subscribers  or  received 
from  further  sales  of  stock,  there  was  made  in 
the  ensuing  summer,  at  Philadelphia,  the  first 
purchase  of  books,  amounting  to  about  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  volumes. 

We  will  pass  over  the  years  intervening  be- 
tween 1814  and  1908,  stopping  only  to  note  that 
the  library  passed  through  the  various  stages 
common  to  many  of  those  which  undertook  to 
supply  the  people  with  books  in  the  first  half  of 
the  nineteenth  century.  After  the  Circulating 
Library  Society  there  were  an  Apprentice  Li- 
brary, a  Mechanic's  Institute,  then  a  School  Li- 
brary, and,  finally,  with  the  opening  of  the  second 
half  of  the  century,  the  full-blown  Public  Library. 
Books  in  considerable  numbers,  very  likely  two 
hundred,  belonging  to  the  Circulating  Library 
Society  are  on  the  shelves  of  the  Public  Library, 
though  for  the  most  part  their  identity  cannot 
be  proved,  owing  to  the  destruction  of  marks 
through  rebinding.     In  one  of  the  show-cases  of 

5 


the  Exhibition  Room  in  the  Main  Building  may- 
be seen  a  few  books  in  which  have  survived 
the  book-plates  showing  their  line  of  ancestry. 
These  are  books  which  have  served  for  a  hun- 
dred years  what  has  been  essentially  the  Pubhc 
Library  of  Cincinnati. 

DESCRIPTION 

CENTRAL  LIBRARY 
First  Flocr. 

The  Librarian's  Office  and  the  Order  De- 
partment are  at  the  left  just  within  the  front 
door.  At  the  right  is  the  meeting  room  of  the 
Trustees  and  the  office  of  the  Clerk  of  the 
Board,  who  serves  also  as  a  business  manager 
and  superintendent  of  buildings.  Thirty  feet 
back  from  the  entrance  is  the  Exhibition  Hall, 
furnished  with  show-cases  which  are  used  for  dis- 
playing books  and  plates  from  the  Art  Depart- 
ment, and  for  exhibitions  of  current  interest. 
The  Registration  Department  is  in  this  hall.  At 
the  left  of  the  marble  steps  leading  to  the  Main 
Hall  is  the  entrance  to  the  News  Room,  where 
one  hundred  and  seventy-four  newspapers  from 
the  principal  cities  of  the  world  are  kept  on  file. 
In  the  Main  Hall  on  open  shelves  are  forty  thou- 
sand circulating  books  for  adults.  This  collection 
contains  the  fiction  and  a  selection  of  the  more 
serviceable  books  in  general  hterature,  philosophy, 
history,  biography,  and  travel.  Scientific  books, 
and  books  on  the  fine  arts  and  music,  are  not  to 
be  found  in  the  Main  Hail.  The  general  card 
catalogues  are  at  the  left  as  one  enters,  and  here 
a  trained  cataloguer  is  in  constant  attendance  to 

6 


assist  readers  in  using  them  and  in  selecting 
books.  There  is  also  an  attendant  specially  as- 
signed to  guide  the  reading  of  young  people  who 
are  too  old  for  the  Children's  Room,  and  yet  not 
quite  ready  for  the  free  use  of  the  adult  collec- 
tion. The  general  current  periodicals,  not  scien- 
tific and  not  artistic,  are  on  racks  in  one  corner, 
and  near  them  are  the  directories  of  the  larger 
American  cities,  of  Paris,  London  and  Berlin. 
Back  of  the  Main  Hall,  and  not  open  to  the 
public,  is  the  general  office  for  the  branch  libraries 
and  the  shipping  department  for  the  branch  li- 
braries and  stations. 

Second  Floor. 

As  Cincinnati  is  a  manufacturing  city  and 
as  its  manufactures  are  varied,  it  has  been  the 
policy  for  the  past  six  years  to  purchase  all 
technical  books  of  worth  in  the  English  language 
as  they  are  published,  and  those  in  German  and 
French  so  far  as  there  is  demand  for  them. 
There  are  four  thousand  volumes  on  open  shelves, 
both  circulating  and  reference,  in  the  Useful  Arts 
Room.  The  collection  is  especially  strong  in 
chemistry  and  engineering.  About  two  hundred 
and  thirty  scientific  periodicals  and  trade  journals 
are  regularly  received.  All  reference  work  per- 
taining to  science,  pure  and  applied,  is  done  here. 
A  large  collection  of  trade  catalogues,  indexed 
under  the  subject  and  name  of  the  manufacturer, 
and  many  of  the  publications  of  the  agricultural 
experiment  stations  and  geological  surveys  are 
kept  on  file.  The  bound  volumes  of  the  Engi- 
neering Index  are  supplemented  by  card  indexes 
consisting  of  classified  mounted  clippings  from 

7 


the  monthly  issues.  Immediately  back  of  the 
room,  and  accessible  to  patent  attorneys  and  in- 
ventors, are  sets  of  the  United  States,  British,  and 
French  patent  specifications  and  drawings.  The 
Seminar  Room  is  much  used  by  reading  circles, 
debating  clubs  and  University  extension  courses, 
not  to  mention  the  Story  Hour.  The  Children's 
Room  is  referred  to  under  the  general  heading. 
Children's  Department,  at  the  end  of  this  de- 
scription. 

Third  Floor. 

The  Art  Rooms  are  devoted  to  the  fine  arts 
and  allied  subjects.  One  of  the  treasures  of  this 
collection  is  a  set  of  the  original  folio  edition  of 
Audubon's  Birds  of  America,  while  the  works  on 
heraldry,  textile  design,  furniture  and  metal-work, 
and  the  many  reproductions  of  old  and  modern 
paintings,  architecture  and  sculpture  are  of  inval- 
uable service  to  the  illustrators,  architects  and 
designers  who  are  regular  patrons  of  this  depart- 
ment. A  large  number  of  books  on  art,  architec- 
ture, music,  the  drama,  photography,  gardening, 
athletic  and  other  sports,  as  well  as  a  large  col- 
lection of  musical  scores  have  been  placed  on  open 
shelves.  This  department  also  contains  a  good 
assortment  of  Perry  pictures,  Detroit  photo- 
graphic company  photographs  of  scenery,  public 
buildings,  and  manners  and  customs  of  various 
parts  of  the  world,  nearly  ten  thousand  lantern 
slides,  depicting  archaeology,  travel,  history,  art, 
literature,  industries  and  the  sciences,  and  a  col- 
lection of  stereoscopic  views,  all  of  which  are  in 
constant  demand  for  educational  purposes  in 
clubs,  churches,  schools,   and   the  Hbrary  itself. 

8 


Another  interesting  collection,  but  which  does 
not  circulate,  is  a  set  of  Braun  carbon  reproduc- 
tions of  paintings  in  various  European  galleries; 
these  prints  are  arranged  in  specially  constructed 
cabinets.  Many  of  the  art  books  and  portfolio 
collections,  which  on  account  of  size  and  costliness, 
cannot  circulate,  are  brought  to  the  notice  of  the 
general  public  by  being  displayed,  from  time  to 
time,  in  the  show-cases  in  the  Exhibition  Hall  on 
the  first  floor. 

The  Study  Room  is  for  general  reference  work 
on  historical,  literary  and  sociological  subjects. 
The  collection  is  one  of  purely  reference  books 
which  do  not  circulate.  Books  are  reserved  for 
general  readers  and  also  for  debating  clubs  and 
for  collateral  reading  in  the  high  schools  and  the 
University.  The  many  demands  for  genealogical 
material  are  met  here,  the  collection  of  town  and 
family  histories  being  shelved  just  outside  the 
room. 

In  the  Blind  Room  are  books  in  raised  char- 
acters. Here  are  given  readings  by  volunteers, 
five  times  a  week,  to  blind  listeners.  On  Friday 
morning  the  room  is  occupied  by  adult  blind 
persons  who  are  receiving  instruction  in  reading 
and  writing.  The  education  of  blind  children, 
formerly  carried  on  in  this  room,  has  been  taken 
up  by  the  Board  of  Education,  which  has  estab- 
lished a  school  for  them.  Other  outgrowths 
from  the  modest  work  of  the  Blind  Department 
are  the  home  for  the  blind  women  and  the  indus- 
trial station  for  blind  persons,  both  men  and 
women,  at  Clovernook. 

Fourth  Floor. 

The  first  room  reached  by  the  elevator,  or  by 
9 


the  stairs,  is  that  used  by  the  Cataloguing  De- 
partment. Adjoining  this  is  the  Finishing  Room, 
where  the  work  of  inserting  book-plates,  slip 
pockets,  and  the  general  preparation  of  the  books 
for  the  shelves  is  carried  on.  The  Lecture  Room 
is  on  this  floor.  It  is  a  small  room,  only  large 
enough  to  accommodate  from  one  hundred  to 
one  hundred  and  twenty  adults.  Sometimes  there 
have  been  two  hundred  to  two  hundred  and  fifty 
children  crowded  in.  As  in  all  of  our  lecture 
rooms,  there  is  a  stereopticon  kept  in  constant 
readiness  for  use,  and  a  screen.  The  screen  is 
not  of  cloth  but  consists  of  a  patch  of  plaster 
suitably  framed.  The  plaster  gives  a  much 
smoother  surface  than  is  possible  with  the  usual 
cloth  curtain. 

CHILDREN'S    DEPARTMENT 

The  Children's  Room  in  the  Main  Library, 
which  was  opened  in  1900,  was  suitably  furnished 
for  children's  work  by  Mr.  Frank  B.  Wiborg,  in 
the  name  of  his  three  daughters,  and  was  equipped 
with  books  by  the  Library.  At  present  there 
are  six  similar  children's  rooms  in  the  six  Car- 
negie branches,  the  first  of  which  was  opened  in 
1906.  The  books  in  these  children's  rooms  are 
carefully  selected  and  librarians  trained  for  spe- 
cial work  with  children  are  placed  in  charge.  In 
the  smaller  branches  one  corner  of  the  library 
room  is  set  apart  for  the  children,  and,  where 
there  is  only  one  librarian  in  charge,  the  chil- 
dren's work  forms  a  part  of  her  duty.  Good 
books  are  brought  to  the  attention  of  children 
by  means  of  exhibits,  pictures,  bulletins,  book- 
marks,   reading    lists,    and    through   the    Story 

10 


Hour,  the  children's  clubs  and  the  illustrated 
talks. 

A  large  number  of  children's  clubs  hold 
meetings  in  the  Library.  Some  of  these  clubs 
are  conducted  by  the  librarians  themselves,  others 
by  volunteers.  In  all  of  these  clubs  it  is  the  aim 
to  train  the  children  to  use  the  Library  intelli- 
gently. Story  Hours  are  held  at  which  stories 
from  the  best  literature  are  told.  A  plan  for 
telling  these  stories  is  formed  to  suit  the  needs  of 
each  children's  room,  so  that  at  the  end  of  the 
year  a  definite  line  of  reading  will  have  been  fol- 
lowed. Talks  illustrated  by  stereopticon  pictures 
are  also  given,  and,  in  the  Children's  Room  of  the 
Main  Library,  six  stereoscopic  machines  have  been 
utilized  to  show  pictures  on  subjects  of  special 
interest. 

Other  agencies  of  the  Library  for  children's 
work  are  the  Home  Libraries  and  School  Li- 
braries. The  Home  Libraries  are  small  collec- 
tions of  books  placed  in  homes  not  reached  by 
the  larger  library  distributing  centers  and  the 
work,  which  is  supervised  by  the  Library,  is  done 
mainly  by  volunteers.  The  books  are  changed 
every  eight  weeks  and  in  the  summer  are  trans- 
ferred to  the  Public  Playgrounds.  Any  teacher 
in  a  public  or  private  school  is  entitled  to  a  de- 
posit library  which  may  be  retained  for  one  year 
and  the  books  circulated  among  the  pupils  for 
home  reading.  These  libraries  do  not  contain 
supplementary  text-books,  but  are  intended  to 
supply  the  "culture  reading"  of  the  child. 


11 


BRANCHES 
Large  Branches. 

Cummins ville  Branch,  Hamilton  Avenue  near 

Chase  Street,  Northside. 

Opened  April  27,  1908. 

Cost  of  building,  $31,852.97. 

Number  of  volumes,  6,689. 

Circulation  for  five  months,  46,719. 

Branch  Librarian,  Mary  Rudd  Cochran. 

Dayton  Street  Branch,  Dayton  Street,  between 
Baymiller  and  Freeman. 
Opened  January  6,  1908. 
Cost  of  site,  $11,000;   cost  of  building, 
$15,672.26;  cost  of  cottage,  $2,040.62. 
Number  of  volumes,  7,640. 
Circulation  for  nine  months,  85,926. 
Branch  Librarian, . 

East  End  Branch,  Eastern  Avenue  and  Don- 
ham  Street,  Tusculum. 
Opened  March  14,  1907. 
Cost  of  site,  $12,000;  cost  of  building, 

$33,182.33. 
Number  of  volumes,  8,267. 
Circulation  for  year,  62,685. 
Branch  Librarian,  Annie  S.  Dresser. 

North   Cincinnati  Branch,  Vine   and   Daniels 
Streets,  Corryville. 

Opened  April  2,  1907. 

Cost  of  site,  $30,000;   cost  of  building, 

$46,805.36. 
Number  of  volumes,  11,357. 
Circulation  for  year,  110,129. 
Branch  Librarian,  Lillie  Wulfekoetter. 
12 


Norwood    Branch,    Montgomery    Road    and 
Weyer  Avenue,  Norwood. 
Opened  July  22,  1907. 
Site,  given;  cost  of  building,  $25,000. 
Number  of  volumes,  9,504. 
Circulation  for  year,  86,986. 
Branch  Librarian,  Lilian  Davis. 

Walnut  Hills  Branch,  Kemper  Lane  and  Lo- 
cust Street,  Walnut  Hills. 
Opened  April  7,  1906. 
Cost  of  site,  $16,000;  cost  of  building, 

$46,150.30. 
Number  of  volumes,  14,809. 
Circulation  for  year,  135,085. 
Branch  Librarian,  Jennie  How. 

Small  Branches. 

These  small  branches  take  their  names  from 
the  villages  in  Hamilton  County  in  which  they 
are  situated.  All  are  in  rented  quarters.  They 
can  be  reached  by  the  various  interurban  lines, 
but  are  at  some  distance  from  the  City. 

Harrison  Branch. 

Open  daily,  except  Sunday,  morning,  after- 
noon and  evening. 
Number  of  volumes,  1,700. 
Circulation  for  year,  10,887. 

Hartwell  Branch. 

Open    three    afternoons    and    evenings    a 

week. 
Number  of  volumes,  2,205. 
Circulation  for  year,  11,580. 
13 


Lockland  Branch. 

Open  daily,  except  Sunday,  morning,  after- 
noon and  evening. 
Number  of  volumes,  2,378. 
Circulation  for  year,  14,046. 

Madisonville  Branch. 

Open  daily,  except  Sunday,  from  8  a.  m. 

to  9  p.  m. 
Number  of  volumes,  2,797. 
Circulation  for  year,  24,008. 

Pleasant  Ridge  Branch. 

Open    three    afternoons    and    evenings    a 

week. 
Number  of  volumes,  2,842. 
Circulation  for  year,  8,634. 

Wyoming  Branch. 

Open    three    afternoons    and    evenings    a 

week. 
Number  of  volumes,  2,128. 
Circulation  for  year,  13,979. 

The  buildings  for  the  large  branches  were 
paid  for  out  of  a  gift  from  Mr.  Andrew  Car- 
negie, with  one  exception — for  the  Dayton  Street 
Branch  an  old  dwelling  house  was  remodeled, 
and  the  expense  met  out  of  the  current  funds  of 
the  Library.  The  cost  of  the  buildings  as  given 
includes  the  furniture.  Most  of  the  sites  were 
bought  by  the  City  and  deeded  to  the  Library 
Board.  The  Norwood  Branch,  also  a  gift  from 
Mr.  Andrew  Carnegie,  but  directly  to  the  city  of 
Norwood,  was  erected  under  the  direction  of  a 

14 


Local  Board  of  Trustees  and  then  turned  over 
to  the  Trustees  of  the  Public  Library  of  Cincin- 
nati. The  site  was  a  gift  from  Mr.  Edward 
Mills. 

STATISTICS 

For  the  Year  ending  September  30,  1908. 


Circulation 


Number  of  volumes 


Number  of  cardholders 


Main  Library 
Branches 

Total 

Main  Library 
Branches 

Total 


670,548 
610,663 

1,281,211 

278,075 
72,540 

350,615 
69,499 


15 


OFFICERS. 

Eugene  Schaefer,  President.        Washington  T.  Porter,  Treas. 
Drausin  Wulsin,  Vice-Pres't.       Ernst  von  Bargen,    Secretary. 

Clarence  L.  Stanley,  Clerk. 

N.  D.  C.  Hodges,  Librarian. 

BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES. 

W.  T.  Porter.  Robert  H.  West.       Drausin  Wulsin. 

Henry  W.  Bettmann,  Eugene  Schaefer.       Ernst  von  Bargen. 
James  A.  Green. 


Stockton,  CaliK 


BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


CDS477ESbE 


.^^'^           14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LIBRAKY   SCHOOL  LIBRARl 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 

Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 

T.!l^S^Vi^i             "»'-S5'«-"''' 

